In lead generation for B2B tech companies, the requirements, number of stakeholders, length of sales cycles, and, of course, the price points are much more complex than B2C. Here's our proven way of tackling this complexity.
In a study conducted on lead generation for B2Bs, about 37% of marketers said that lead generation was the most difficult part of their jobs. This is understandable given lack of trust people place in marketing and sales. To effectively convert leads into customers, you should employ methods that work today, instead of working on the same marketing models from yesteryear.
In order for your target audience to share their details such as name, phone number, or email address with you, so that you can reach out to them or nurture them, you need to establish trust. It's only when people trust your brand and see you as an authority that they will readily share information with you and look forward to hearing from you.
One of the best ways to establish trust with their target audience for tech businesses, is to adopt content marketing. Content marketing goes a long way in building awareness, trust, and when done right, it can also help establish you as a thought leader in your industry.
The right kind of content speaks to your target audience about how they can solve their pain points, instead of what your company does. This will help your end customers connect with your brand better. Blog posts are a great way to stay connected with your target audience on a consistent basis. Consistency is key in earning trust of your target audience.
Many a time, the prospects who are looking for your products or services could also be C-Suites, like CIOs, who have a good understanding of the tech industry. Content like whitepapers, e-books, and industry reports are great tools to attract their attention to your business.
This brings us to the second important point that can help boost lead generation for your tech B2B manifold.
Inbound marketing is the best way, in the current day, to generate quality leads for your business. It has taken over the earlier outbound marketing strategy which was more 'push' in nature.
68% of marketers who use inbound strategy believe that they have an effective marketing strategy in place according to the Inbound Report 2018. The pull strategy in inbound marketing works methodically to create awareness about a brand in the market, aid the buyers purchase consideration phase, and finally give them the assistance required to take the call and buy the product/service at the decision stage.
The marketing funnel comprises these three stages: Awareness, Consideration, Decision. You could also add a fourth stage of delight after the decision stage, when the delighted customer turns into a brand evangelist.
Using a marketing strategy that aligns to your buyer's journey is what sets apart inbound from more traditional marketing methodologies.
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This is the point where your prospect is just becoming aware of their pain points. They are not thinking about a solution but gathering information on the problem. Having the right content to get in front of the representatives of your buyer personas here is critical as it can serve as breadcrumbs to your website or landing page.
Search engine optimization and content that is based on topics they are likely to search for in this stage, plus social media are your best allies here. Paid ads can be a quick win tool as well.
The consideration stage is all about creating additional content -- blog posts and content offers -- that speak to the prospect in this stage. At this point they are actively looking for a way to solve their pains and you can establish trust and seed the future relationship by offering them information on that.
Ebooks, white papers, reports, as well as content pillar pages are your best tools in your toolkit. At the same time, your goal is to convert them into a lead and get them into your CRM so you can start nurturing them, typically with email, while providing your sales team the signals when the lead is becoming more sales-ready.
The decision stage comes when the lead is actively researching concrete solutions, including yours and those of the competitors. Main tools at your disposal are bottom of the funnel offers like free trials, assessments and demos. At the same time, email can help you educate them further of your product features and guide them to these starting points of the closing stage.
Some of the leads will already come to your website at the decision stage. A compelling BoFu CTA will help convert them leads into customers. Make sure your CTA gives them a clear expectation of what they are signing up for. 'Book a Demo' is in 9 cases out of then better than 'Get Started' or 'Contact Us' - if you want to capture those sales qualified leads that is.
When boosting your B2B lead generation efforts, pay close attention to your landing page. It's the cornerstone of any lead generation campaign in B2B. When prospects turn up on your business’s landing page through organic searches, PPC marketing, email marketing etc. make surethe page is optimized well. You can do so by:
With a full funnel marketing strategy based on the customer journey your best customers actually take, you're positioning your B2B tech business to generate more qualified leads in a predictable, scaleable way.
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